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By ADAM TEICHER

The Kansas City Star

RIVER FALLS, Wis. | Ean Randolph caught a punt at a recent Chiefs training-camp practice and immediately took the ball straight up the field. He didn’t hesitate or dance while waiting for a bigger hole to develop, as his predecessor took to doing.

At that moment, it became evident the Chiefs’ return game will look different without Dante Hall. But will it be better?

“Those are big shoes to fill,” said Randolph, a rookie free agent from South Florida. “He was my favorite to watch. He would make people look bad.”

Randolph was describing the Hall of previous seasons, but not of last year. He clearly lost his ability to affect a game, he and the Chiefs became disenchanted with each other, and finally in the spring he was traded to St. Louis.

Randolph, small and quick like Hall, is at the head of a line of punt returners that also includes wide receiver Samie Parker. Another receiver, Jeff Webb, will probably be the kickoff returner.

The Chiefs need that tandem to give them more than Hall did last season. Their offense, possibly with a young starting quarterback in Brodie Croyle and without the star running back in Larry Johnson, could struggle, at least early in the season.

“We have to be a better return team,” coach Herm Edwards said. “Our return game is going to be a big factor for us.

“We’ve got some guys who will go (up the field). They’ll get it, hit the seam and run.”

That was a not-so-subtle dig at Hall, who was a favorite of former head coach Dick Vermeil’s but never meshed with Edwards and his special-teams coach, Mike Priefer.

“He was treated differently by the previous staff,” Preifer said. “This head coach and myself are not into babying players. I’m going to treat them like men and treat them with respect. I guess it wasn’t enough. He was in the tank a lot. His attitude wasn’t what it should have been. After a while, I don’t know if he wanted to buy into what the head coach was preaching or what I was trying to get done.”

They probably won’t have that problem with Randolph, a wide-eyed rookie. He played only one season in major college but made the most of it. He led the Big East and was fourth in the country with a 14.8-yard average.

“I love returning punts,” he said. “You don’t have time to think. You just do what you’ve got to do to try to make people miss.”

The Chiefs, with their desperate need for a punt returner after trading Hall, contemplated drafting Randolph in the seventh round. They passed but made him a priority in free-agency.

“I ranked the top 18 or 20 punt returners available in the draft, and he was probably eighth or ninth,” Priefer said. “The reason he was that low is that he played only one year in (major) college. If he had played for two or three years, he would have been a lot higher.

“He has some toughness. He’ll catch the ball in a crowd. He’s very, very quick with that first step. He’s getting better at catching the ball. He’s still not as consistent as he needs to be.”

Parker and a reserve cornerback, Justin Phinisee, are fall-back candidates. Both are more reliable punt catchers than Randolph but don’t provide his big-play ability.

“With a rookie returner, we’ve got to make very sure that we trust him and that he’s not going to turn the ball over,” Priefer said. “I don’t care if he makes big plays the first couple of weeks. I just want to make sure he’s going to catch the ball.”

Edwards said the Chiefs might use different returners depending on the situation. Randolph would return when fielding punts near midfield, when a turnover wouldn’t necessarily be costly.

They would then use a veteran like Parker or even Eddie Kennison when fielding a punt deeper in their own end of the field.

“Hopefully, we’ll find just one guy,” Edwards said. “We don’t want to have to do it that way, but if we have to, we have to.”

Webb showed ability as a kickoff returner while Hall was injured last season. He had a 50-yard return in a narrow win over Arizona.

“Dante taught me so much,” Webb said. “I had meetings with him every Thursday at his house during the season to watch film. We looked at a lot of things other teams try to do to stop returns. He took me under his wing. Now I’m using what I learned from him to my advantage.

“My thing is to hit it hard and if you catch me, you catch me. I can’t be like Dante. I’m not going to make as many people miss. I’m not going to outrun as many people. I’m not a shake-and-bake guy. I’m a straight-forward runner.”

Last edited by Guru; 07-31-2007 at 05:32 AM.

THAT quarterback is NOT a Pro Bowl quarterback. Never was and never will be.

“We have to be a better return team,” coach Herm Edwards said. “Our return game is going to be a big factor for us.

“We’ve got some guys who will go (up the field). They’ll get it, hit the seam and run.”

That was a not-so-subtle dig at Hall, who was a favorite of former head coach Dick Vermeil’s but never meshed with Edwards and his special-teams coach, Mike Priefer.

“He was treated differently by the previous staff,” Preifer said. “This head coach and myself are not into babying players. I’m going to treat them like men and treat them with respect. I guess it wasn’t enough. He was in the tank a lot. His attitude wasn’t what it should have been. After a while, I don’t know if he wanted to buy into what the head coach was preaching or what I was trying to get done.”

Uncalled for and unprofessional. Absolutely ridiculous.

They are talking about one of the greatest all around kick returners in the league that had a style that didn't mesh with theirs. When your boss and you want to go a different way, I bet in 95% of the cases, you have very little success.

So you get rid of the guy, but then why talk bad about him after the fact. No class whatsover. If you got rid of him, focus on the future.

And - what does it say about a coach who has an absolute star, one of the best ever, and he cannot get him to perform? Maybe the coach has a bigger coaching problem than the player had an attitude problem.

No good comes of saying crap like that. Absolutely none. How does that help the 2007 Chiefs? ZERO.

Great that we have a coach who has the time & energy to look back. If this is not the best return team in history, then I'll wonder why Pfeifer was wasting any time, even 20 seconds answering questions to talk about individuals on the 2006 team.

I'm a little ticked....

You can only have one favorite team. There are no "second favorites".
-- Chris, resident of Arrowhead East (St. Louis)

“My thing is to hit it hard and if you catch me, you catch me. I can’t be like Dante. I’m not going to make as many people miss. I’m not going to outrun as many people. I’m not a shake-and-bake guy. I’m a straight-forward runner.”

This guys stock just went up in my book. I said it many times while watching Hall return the ball last year: "Just run forwards!!!!"

They are talking about one of the greatest all around kick returners in the league that had a style that didn't mesh with theirs. When your boss and you want to go a different way, I bet in 95% of the cases, you have very little success.

So you get rid of the guy, but then why talk bad about him after the fact. No class whatsover. If you got rid of him, focus on the future.

And - what does it say about a coach who has an absolute star, one of the best ever, and he cannot get him to perform? Maybe the coach has a bigger coaching problem than the player had an attitude problem.

No good comes of saying crap like that. Absolutely none. How does that help the 2007 Chiefs? ZERO.

Great that we have a coach who has the time & energy to look back. If this is not the best return team in history, then I'll wonder why Pfeifer was wasting any time, even 20 seconds answering questions to talk about individuals on the 2006 team.

I'm a little ticked....

I'm with you. Hall was an electrifying player and the new staff couldn't accomplish anything with him. It's cool if you don't want someone to try and make things happen, but you got rid of him, he didn't trash you to the press, so be a professional and shut your mouth.

Amazing how a younger guy, who is full of confidence managed to hold his tounge, while the coaching staff, older and should be more composed, run off at the mouth like that.

How many times did you yell at Barry Sanders to "just run forward!!!"? I wonder if the new staff could take credit for lowering Halls averages?

Hall isn't Barry Sanders. That being said; your right about trashing Hall to the press, but being honest I think they said what a lot of people were thinking. Was it all Halls fault? No, the blocking was seldom there for him, and teams learned to contain him. I was as ecstatic about the return against the Donks in 2003, but you can't live in past experience; he wasn't going to be able to repeat that every single time no matter how hard he tried. JMHO

Hall had one good year! He was ok but to classify him as one of the best ever is a stretch to say the least! As you guys have said, we need someone who will run up field not dance around. I would say that more than half the time Dante went to the house, we got lucky with a NO call on a block in the back or something. Remember that Denver game at about the 4 yd line!!!

Hall isn't Barry Sanders. That being said; your right about trashing Hall to the press, but being honest I think they said what a lot of people were thinking. Was it all Halls fault? No, the blocking was seldom there for him, and teams learned to contain him. I was as ecstatic about the return against the Donks in 2003, but you can't live in past experience; he wasn't going to be able to repeat that every single time no matter how hard he tried. JMHO

Maybe people were thinking he should run forward - and I don't see an issue talking about last year not doing enough of that.

But to talk about his attitude off the field is where the guy crossed the line. It's like you leaving a job and your old boss saying "He didn't do his tasks correctly, and he had a bad sense of humor." One is professional, one is personal. Keep it professional.

As for one of the best ever, just look at return career return TD's and try to find an argument that he is not one of the best ever.

To say he lost yards sometimes: True
To say he caused holding penalties by his teammates: True
To say he caused clips by his teammates: True

To say he is not one of the top returners of all times: C'mon....

As for the coaching staff: Pfeifer is on my list. He better be immaculate. :-)

You can only have one favorite team. There are no "second favorites".
-- Chris, resident of Arrowhead East (St. Louis)

Maybe people were thinking he should run forward - and I don't see an issue talking about last year not doing enough of that.

But to talk about his attitude off the field is where the guy crossed the line. It's like you leaving a job and your old boss saying "He didn't do his tasks correctly, and he had a bad sense of humor." One is professional, one is personal. Keep it professional.

As for one of the best ever, just look at return career return TD's and try to find an argument that he is not one of the best ever.

To say he lost yards sometimes: True
To say he caused holding penalties by his teammates: True
To say he caused clips by his teammates: True

To say he is not one of the top returners of all times: C'mon....

As for the coaching staff: Pfeifer is on my list. He better be immaculate. :-)

Agreed; it was classless to throw him under the bus like that; a criticism of Herm that I have made known more then once.